


Common Annoyances

by GamerGirl5



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-12 06:51:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7924816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GamerGirl5/pseuds/GamerGirl5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a small team make their way back from a small forest on the border of Niebelheim to Midgar, they run across a few strange things. Not everyone will be happy on the way back and the group may run into many problems that are not easy to solve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Starting a long trip home

After a long six weeks of searching for the source of a distress call that originated in almost the middle of nowhere, the small team was exhausted.

The two Turks, Elena and Reno, were ready to go back and see their coworkers, while everyone else was just ready to be rid of their trouble. The main problem though was Reno. He didn't know when to stop bothering people, and out of the six, the one he seemed to bother the most was the one who craved solitude most.

After hearing the reasons behind the groups' trek through the wilderness, Vincent Valentine had nearly declined to go in the first place. He thought that this objective didn't have anything to do with him and didn't want to intrude on the others' business. After the begging that proceeded from Yuffie Kisaragi though, he was convinced otherwise.

He was now starting to seriously regret that decision. Almost everything had been starting to get on his nerves, and out of that, especially Reno. After so many weeks of the constant annoyance that the one man was, he was ready to be alone. And be alone for a long while. He didn't feel that what they found had proven to be any benefit to him anyway.

He had a deep rooted hatred of all things Shinra, and what they had found was the prodigy of one of the largest Shinra based experiments. In fact, it had been one of the most recognized S.O.L.D.I.E.R. first classes that had been in their ranks. Zack Fair. All Vincent knew of him was that he had been one of Cloud's closest friends in the beginning of his S.O.L.D.I.E.R. career. And Also, that Cloud had watched that friend die, shot down by the very same people that he had devoted himself to for so long.

How this man was alive though was the real mystery to them all. When they set out they didn't expect that they would find anything closely resembling the long dead S.O.L.D.I.E.R. but when they got to the site of the distress signal, a abandoned site deep underground, they saw the lone figure sleeping on the cold floor.

At first Yuffie and Tifa had thought it was a dead man, but upon further investigation, they discovered he was just in a very sound sleep, and proceeded to awaken him. He said he didn't have any memory of what he had been doing for the past several years, or where he had been, but that he too was surprised to be down in an abandoned cavern.

Henceforth, the group decided they could set up camp in the mouth of the cave, figuring that if Zack could sleep in there for who knows how long, being totally unaware, there couldn't be anything too dangerous lurking inside.

Slowly they set their gear up. Everyone was tired from the long day, and all of them were ready to get back to Midgar, especially Tifa who had left behind Denzel and Marlene with Cloud. She hoped they were alright, she hadn't planned on the journey being so long, but she was sure that they, along with the occasional help from Barret, were fine.

Vincent would probably not be returning to Midgar. Everyone knew this in the back of their minds, but no one wanted to talk about it yet. He didn't like the noise of the large city. Even if he go into the city to meet up with everyone, it would be a very short stop for him, and he would be headed out, either to Nibleheim or somewhere else that even he wasn't sure of yet.

Once everyone had most of their things ready, they gathered together for dinner, however small it was. A few cans of beans, some bread, and a freshly killed rabbit, courtesy of Reno and Elena, was their dinner for the night. After each one got their food, except Vincent who seemed to skip meals more often than not, they split into their little groups. The Turks chose a spot not far from Tifa, Yuffie, and Zack, while Vincent moved closer to the entrance of the cave.

While the others talked, he half-listened to their conversation and stared out at the setting sun. He hated being stuck in this cave for the night, though he wasn't sure why. Something in it didn't feel right to him and he wanted to explore it more, but didn't want to stir up more trouble for the rest of the group. He decided he would just have to come back to it later, knowing there was something more to the cave where they had found Zack.

While he sat there, lost in thought, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. He looked over his shoulder and sees Reno approaching him. Out of the whole group, the one who gets on his nerves is that very person. Reno is the most noisy and rude person in their group, and frankly Vincent doesn't understand how he ever was recruited into the Turk program.

"Hey bud, penny for your thoughts." The redhead says loudly. Vincent's frown deepens and Reno seems perfectly content with that fact, seeming to smile even wider at the fact.

"It's none of your concern." Vincent replies shortly. He doesn't care for small talk and would be fine if Reno decided to walk away right now.

"Oh, come on. I know there is something on your mind, as there always seems to be. What's the big deal?" Reno replies back. He then sits right next to Vincent, who seems to tense up at the unexpected closeness.

"There is no deal." He replies shortly again. Vincent starts to stand, deciding to leave the cave and explore the nearby area, instead of having any more of the conversation with Reno.

"Oh, come on man really? You're just gonna leave?" Reno calls after him. Vincent just nods and jumps down from the cave, since it's in a small cliffside. It's not a too much of a jump for him, just about fourteen ft. down to the forest floor, but anyone other than Vincent would probably have been injured from the fall.

He then quickly scans his surroundings, making sure there isn't anything lurking close by getting ready to attack him, and then headed deeper into the forest.

YUFFIE

Yuffie, who had been watching from the other side of the cave since Reno headed Vincent's way, got up and headed over to Reno. He was talking to Vincent, who looked extremely uncomfortable, and she knew that Reno was probably up to no good.

As she gets closer to them, Vincent stands and jumps out of the cave. Alarmed, She runs to the edge and watches him stalk off into the forest.

"VINCENT! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" She yells after him. She waits to hear anything, but just as she expected she doesn't get an answer.

"What did you do now, asshole?!" She yells at Reno, who tries his best to look innocent. She wacks him on the head and then puts her hands on her hips glaring down at him.

"Nothing, I swear. You know how he is. Why do you always blame me when he gets all upset anyway." Reno stands up then and starts heading away from the entrance.

"Oh whatever Reno. Everyone knows you like to bug him, it's only common sense that you're the reason he left." She scolds him, following him back into the cave.

"Why do you always get defensive about him?" Reno asks. "Are you in love." He says, drawing out the last word with a mocking expression. Yuffie wacks him again.

"Of course not, you Idiot! Why do you always have to say stuff like that? That's why no one likes you." She then storms over to Tifa, who looks like she is barely holding in her laughter.

"Oh come on it's not funny, Tif. He is such an Idiot. I don't understand why he feels the need to annoy everyone so much, we're here because the Turks needed out help in the first place." She sighs, she gets so frustrated with Reno all the time.

"Oh, Yuffie. You just need to learn to let things go. Reno is just trying to get everyone worked up, don't you understand that?" Tifa tells her, and then laughs.

"I know, I know, but it's just so easy to get angry at him. You know me, I don't have much self control. I say what I'm thinking, even if he's baiting me to be angry at him." She says back. Sometimes, she did wish she would have more of a verbal filter, but where would the fun be in that? She enjoys being able to say what she wants, most of the time, but understands where Tifa is coming from.

"Yes, I know that." Tifa says. "And we all love the way you are, but I'm just giving you some advice. Because If you react to Reno, he will just keep going. I think Vincent knows that too, and that's why he decided to leave for a while." Yuffie shrugs and goes to her bag. She searches through all her stuff, trying to find a pair of semi-clean clothes, but has no luck.

That's another bad thing about this whole trip, they all ran out of clean clothes to wear, and now are wearing the same things over and over again, which is not a fun experience in the least.

"Well, It's getting late." She announces. "I need my beauty rest, I'll see you all in the morning!" She then lays onto her makeshift "bed" and slowly goes to sleep.

VINCENT

The forest seems very peaceful in the night, though Vincent knows just the opposite is true. He can hear a pack of Nibel Wolves prowling not far away, and all kinds of other things scavenging in the darkness.

He is sitting at the base of a large tree in a small clearing, and every so often he can hear the bushes to the left of him rustle, like there is a small animal climbing inside.

While most would be put off by the daunting environment, Vincent thrives in the darkness. His senses seem heightened by the darkness and he enjoys hearing the sounds of animals and monsters prowling through the night. He knows he should head back soon, and keep watch from the cave, but he hasn't had a second of solitude in so long and wants to stay for a little longer.

He also feels a little guilty for ignoring Yuffie's call earlier. She probably just wanted to make sure he wasn't leaving for long, and he didn't even give her the courtesy of a response. He knows she probably doesn't care at all, but there is guilt gnawing away at him for being so inconsiderate.

Finally, after sitting there for nearly three hours, he heads back to the cave. As he enters, he looks around at the group. All of them are asleep, except for Zack. His training makes him more alert than all of them, and he probably heard Vincent entering the cave. That or he was keeping watch for them all, something that only Vincent had done for the majority of the trip.

"You gonna keep watch?" Zack asks him. He nods in reply, and watches as Zack stands up from the stone perch he had been sitting on and lays down on borrowed items from the rest of the group.

Vincent then goes to the very edge of the cave, and hangs his legs of the cliff side, watching the forest until the sun slowly coasts up into the sky.


	2. A Slow Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a small team make their way back from a small forest on the border of Niebelheim to Midgar, they run across a few strange things. Not everyone will be happy on the way back and the group may run into many problems that are not easy to solve.

Yuffie

As the sun shines into the cave, Yuffie is awakened by the bright light. She blinks a few times and slowly sits up. "Freaking sun always disturbing my good sleep." She mutters under her breath. She stretches her arms and jumps up looking around to see who else is awake.

She watches for a few seconds as Tifa packs her gear back into her leather bag, and then keeps looking around the cave. Reno is still sleeping, but Elena looks like she had been up for a while, already having all the gear that they brought with them packed up, except the things Reno has with him.

She then looks to Vincent, who is sitting at the edge of the cave, and decides to go over and talk with him. As She makes her way over to him, she tries to be very quiet so he won't be able to detect her until she is near, but about half-way there, she accidentally kicks a little pebble in his direction, and he quickly look over at her and notices her approaching.

'Damn it' She think to herself. Of course she would do that. Whatever it doesn't matter, she continues towards him and sits. He looks over at her once more, and then looks back out to the forest.

"Morning Vincent!" She says to him, flashing him a large smile. He doesn't look back at her to see it though, so she though, so she quickly goes back to a neutral expression.

"Morning, Yuffie." He says back to her, finally turning to look at her. She meets his gaze for a short time only breaking it because he quickly looks back out over the forest.

"So, what were you up to last night. And, why the hell didn't you answer me? I know you heard me!" She playfully punches him, and he tenses up, but after a second he goes back to normal. He should be used to that by now, she thinks, she only does that about a million times.

"I decided to go look around." He finally answers. Seeing that he isn't going to elaborate anymore, she sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Well, I should probably get all my stuff packed back up." She tells him. "See you in a bit." She quickly stands and walks away, back to where she slept, and takes a few brief glances back in his way. He doesn't move at all for a while, and then all of a sudden he stands and goes over to Zack.

"Well, look at that Tifa," Yuffie says to her friend. "Why do you think he is being friendly with the Soldier?" Tifa pauses what she is doing and looks up at Zack and Vincent and then gets right back to work.

"I don't know. They both seem to know what they're doing maybe he's telling him about something he saw in the forest?" Tifa shrugs, "I don't understand you two though." She says after a long pause.

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Yuffie says, putting her hands on her hips. Tifa laughs and seems to contemplate what to say next.

"Well... I don't know exactly. I just think you two are so awkward. I know you like him, why don't you ever just talk with him about it?" She explains.

"Tifa, quiet." She says back, casting a quick glance over at Vincent, who had moved away from Zack and was now heading back to the cave entrance. "You know it's not that easy. It took you forever to talk to Cloud about that kind of stuff, so don't you kind of understand where I'm coming from?" Once again Tifa shrugs.

"I really think I'm right on this one though." She replies, "But I understand if you're nervous. It isn't that big of a deal now, but I think you should tell him when we get back in Midgar, before he leaves for Nibelheim."

"Well, I just don't think he would think that way about me." Yuffie tells her. Tifa smiles at her, and continues packing.

"Well, just give it time, then. Time shouldn't hurt anything." The older woman says to her.

Yuffie would take time to do anything as drastic as that. If she talked to Vincent and he didn't feel the same way, how would she ever be able to face him again? She would wait, until she felt the time was right, or knew beyond a doubt that he did share the feeling and then she would speak to him.

Vincent

As he goes back to stand by the cave entrance, Vincent can't help to feel a little impatient. It's nearly noon and still the group are not ready to get out of the cave. All of them have been awake for nearly an hour, except Yuffie, who woke up nearly twenty minutes ago and Reno who was just awaken by his co-worker.

He doesn't know why he's so eager to leave the old cave, but the forest almost seems to be welcoming them back into it's depths, Vincent most of all. They all felt as if there wasn't something entirely right with the forest, but they hadn't run into any real trouble throughout the whole trip.

None of them had been into that part of the forest by Nibelheim before, and they didn't know why it felt so wrong, but Vincent was eager to find the answers and he would return here, once his promise to Cloud had been fulfilled and he safely returned the group to Midgar, and find out the reason behind the daunting sense of evil in the forest.

Suddenly, he got an idea. He stood and walked over to Zack. Maybe if he had been here for some time...

"Zack?" Vincent says as he approaches the SOLDIER, "Have you any idea why the forest seems so strange?" He asks, getting straight to the point.

Zack turns towards him, seemingly confused by the question. "You know I haven't been able to figure it out, though I feel like it's something I should know. Almost similar to Mako, but not the same. Sorry, Vince, I'm not a hundred percent what is up, here." He shrugs and looks apologetic.

"It is no fault of yours, thank you for your input." Vincent says to him and then heads back to his edge of the cave. Whatever is out there will have to wait, but he will be back, and ready to find the source of the mysterious force of evil in the forest.

"IS EVERYONE READY?!" Vincent suddenly hears Yuffie shout from across the cave. He looks over his shoulder, and watches as she stomps around by Reno.

"MY GOD RENO, CAN YOU BE ANY SLOWER?" She shouts in his face. He glares up at her, but continues packing.

"Shut the fuck up you little brat. Could you be any more annoying?" He says back, but doesn't shout surprisingly.

"YES, I COULD. ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR ASS MOVING RIGHT NOW!" She shouts again and moves on, muttering quietly to herself about how useless he is.

About five minutes later, everyone is ready and they start scaling the side of the cliff down to the forest floor. As Vincent jumps down he hears Reno mutter 'fuckin' showoff' and smiles a bit to himself. He lands heavily on the forest floor and does a quick scan of his surroundings. He doesn't detect any monsters nearby, but he remains vigilant.

After almost a minute of being on the ground, he hears a loud thud from behind him and turns to see who just fell. That was not the case though as he turns and is met by the large SOLDIER, who seems to be perfectly unharmed by the large drop.

"Hey. Figured I'd drop in." Zack says and smiles widely. Vincent nearly rolls his eyes right in Zack's face. Zack burst out laughing. "Aww come on man, it wasn't that bad." After silence from Vincent, Zack shrugs. "Well, I guess it was, but I had to say it."

Vincent smirks, concealing it in his cape's collar. This SOLDIER doesn't seem to be that bad, and though Vincent didn't know any other SOLDIER before him, he knew their reputation and did not expect a SOLDIER First Class to be this good tempered.

"Well, I suppose we get the exciting task of waiting for the slow pokes to get down here now." Zack says. He takes the large sword off his back and sits at the base of one of the trees. Vincent does the same, taking up a spot across from Zack.

They wait in silence as the rest of the team descends from the cave mouth.


End file.
